02/01/2023
You see the first post. More to come. All month.
Paul Robeson House Events
- Home
- United States
- Philadelphia, PA
- Paul Robeson House Events
Event page for the Paul Robeson House Museum. A Project of the West Philadelphia Cultural Alliance.
Operating as usual
02/01/2023
This year, the Paul Robeson House & Museum is celebrating the 125th birthday of Paul Leroy Robeson. Each weekday during Black History Month, we will offer a series of vignettes from Robeson’s life as a prelude to his birthday celebration from April 8-15, 2023. The series will remind the country and the world of Robeson’s contributions, and the price he paid for speaking out against racism and oppression. Robeson was born on April 9, 1898.
𝗣𝗮𝘂𝗹 𝗥𝗼𝗯𝗲𝘀𝗼𝗻’𝘀 𝗯𝗶𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆
Paul Leroy Robeson was born in Princeton, NJ, on April 9, 1898, the youngest child of the Rev. William Drew Robeson and Maria Louisa Bustill Robeson, a schoolteacher.
Robeson came from a family of Black Quaker abolitionists. His mother was the great-granddaughter of Cyrus Bustill, a baker who supplied bread to George Washington’s army during the Revolutionary War and founded a mutual-aid society for Blacks in the 18th century. Her ancestors also included the artists David Bustill Bowser and Robert Douglass Jr., abolitionist/educator Sarah Mapps Douglass and Humphrey Morrey, a white man who was the first mayor of Philadelphia.
His father escaped slavery at age 15 via the Underground Railroad and settled in Philadelphia. He was a laborer in the Union Army during the Civil War, graduated from Lincoln University in Pennsylvania with bachelor and theology degrees, and became a minister.
Robeson’s mother died when her clothes caught fire from a stove when he was 6 years old. He and his four siblings - including an only sister Marian - were raised by their father. Robeson attended high school in Somerville, NJ, where he was an exceptional student, and realized he had a natural and distinctive singing voice.
Rev. Robeson was a demanding father, expecting nothing less than perfection and hard work from his children. He taught them to be modest and polite, and to exercise self-control. He taught Robeson to use his gifts to benefit Black people. “I respected my father,” Robeson said, “but I loved my mother.”
—Written by Robeson House volunteer Sherry Howard.
01/27/2023
FINAL FLIER: Comrade Sisters! Pre-save YouTube livestream: https://youtu.be/dMFlo5eA_vk (in stories)
YALL REALLY TURNED UP ON THE SAVE THE DATE! Updates to the program have been finalized. Check the slides! We’re still looking for community co-sponsors to share in amassing direct support we can provide to our distinguished panelists. DM us and there’s opportunities to ensure we will lift you up during the event!
We also recognize that if everyone who registered attends, we will be beyond our advised health and safety guidelines. We invite your graciousness in the event we have to turn people toward viewing the livestream rather than entering the space.
01/23/2023
Posted • Hello All,
Join us on zoom this Saturday for the January Meetup for Noname Book Club. Please sign-up on the Noname website to be sent the zoom link for this Saturday at 3:00 PM:
https://nonamebooks.com/Events
Looking forward to seeing you
01/18/2023
IN-PERSON AND STREAMING ONLINE!
The Parlor Talks Series at Paul Robeson House & Museum presents Joshua Myers () in conversation w/ Kyle Sheppard of .andbouquets (IG)
Of Black Study explores how the ideas of Black intellectuals created different ways of thinking and knowing in their pursuit of conceptual and epistemological freedom.
Joshua Myers explores the work of thinkers who broke with the racial and colonial logics of academic disciplinarity. Bookended by meditations with June Jordan and Toni Cade Bambara, the book focuses on how W.E.B. Du Bois, Sylvia Wynter, Jacob Carruthers and Cedric Robinson contributed to Black Studies approaches to knowledge production within and beyond Western structures of knowledge.
Especially geared toward understanding the contemporary evolution of Black Studies in the neoliberal university, Of Black Study allows us to consider the stakes of intellectual freedom and the path toward a new world.
01/16/2023
🙏🏾. Martin Luther King, Jr. (left) and Eslanda Goode Robeson (right) attending a gathering at the African Unity House, sponsored by the Afro-Asian West Indian Community, in London, England, on October 30, 1961
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Photographs and Prints Division
Shelf locator: Sc Photo Claudia Jones Memorial Collection
01/13/2023
Please note that this event is scheduled to take place at Slought Foundation, located at 4017 Walnut Street. LINK WILL BE IN STORIES OR ON EVENTBRITE THROUGH LINKTREE.
SAVE THE DATE! IAMM Science Education Group, Paul Robeson House & Museum, and Slought/Public Trust are pleased to announce Comrade Sisters, a celebration uplifting the stories and experiences of Black Panther Party women from Philadelphia and beyond, on Sunday, February 5, 2023 from 4-7pm. Free and open to the public, this community forum will feature a panel discussion with invited book contributors from the recent publication of Comrade Sisters: Women of the Black Panther Party (2022), who will be in dialogue with local veteran Black women activists.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/special-event-comrade-sisters-women-of-the-black-panther-party-tickets-515198902787
01/12/2023
Witness History - Paul Robeson and the transatlantic phone line - BBC Sounds
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w3ct3c6p NEW!
In 1957, Paul Robeson used a new phone line to perform the first transatlantic concert
01/12/2023
Tune into tomorrow for this special program. Word to . 🙏🏾
01/11/2023
So much ❤️❤️❤️❤️ and ✊🏾✊🏾✊🏾✊🏾 with our comrades over at for this incredible donation to the Robeson House archives. YES, we accept donations yall!
12/28/2022
SOLIDARITY POST. Not a event. But we are big fans of many of the organizers! Thanks!
Formerly Incarcerated People & Families are 350k+ strong in Philly. Let’s come together in UNITY and to show politicians Our STRENGTH!!! Everything is FREE! Come Fashionably Dressed. And Register for the event thru RSVP so an estimate of how many Ppl are attending the banquet. BYOD! bit.ly/TrueFaces
12/28/2022
Find through the . https://www.inquirer.com/news/philadelphia/paul-robeson-house-museum-eslanda-reading-room-philadelphia-20221228.html
12/21/2022
😍
New Publication Alert: JAAH Vol. 107, no. 4 (Fall 2022)
Check out essays by Michelle Scott, Peter Cole and Ricky Newcomb, Brandy Thomas Wells, & Nico Slate
https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/toc/jaah/2022/107/4
12/20/2022
This Philly high school is ‘a model for what can happen in Pa.,’ Gov. Wolf said
Our partner school! 🙏🏾
Even actress Sheryl Lee Ralph, of Abbott Elementary TV fame, had warm words for Robeson, which was nearly closed by the school district in 2013.
12/18/2022
a note from a social media account that we intend to keep, until it’s increasingly made impossible to do so and live in our full integrity. 🙏🏾
12/18/2022
Robeson House / WPCA Archives Preview
Here’s a video snippet from the debut of The Eslanda Robeson Reading and Resource Room Celebration that took place on December 13, 2022. Thank you so much ! More info on the WPCA / Robeson House archives forthcoming! 📸: Christian Hayden.
12/18/2022
PHOTOS from the debut of the Eslanda Robeson Reading & Resource Room, and finale of our phase one partnership with our Leeway / IPMF Media Artst/Activist-in-Residence Malkia Okech.
PHOTOS BY CHRISTIAN HAYDEN. Working alongside Leeway/IPMF Media Artist/Activist-in-Residence Malkia Okech, we've spent this year preparing our own collections of Robeson materials, alongside the treasured history of West Philadelphia cultural organizing. Join us in realizing what’s possible when gathering multiple generations in preserving the soulful stories and liberatory visions that sustain us on the long walk to freedom.
12/18/2022
Photos from Paul Robeson House Events's post
12/15/2022
WELCOME TO THE ESLANDA ROBESON READING & RESOURCE ROOM AT . Come celebrate with us! Working alongside Leeway/IPMF Media Artist/Activist-in-Residence Malkia Okech (), we've spent this year preparing our own collections of Robeson materials, alongside the treasured history of West Philadelphia cultural organizing. Join us in realizing what’s possible when gathering multiple generations in preserving the soulful stories and liberatory visions that sustain us on the long walk to freedom. This is a dedicated workspace for processing our collections and a shared workshop for projects celebrating community public memory. More opportunities to engage coming in 2023! 🙏🏾
12/12/2022
🙌🏾 Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Photographs and Prints Division, The New York Public Library. (1939 - 1998). Eslanda Goode Robeson speaking at Africa Women's Day gathering. Claudia Jones on the far left (pun intended) amongst others we should name and recover. You know? Let us know.
12/11/2022
is back! Shout out to . Led by Chanelle Wilson, they are incubating a brick and mortar wine garden project dedicated to Black and women owned wines, and of course we love the community building that a love of wines can bring forth. Please follow them! And we love our organizational member partnerships. We’ll have space for more in 2023. 🙏🏾
12/11/2022
In one of the biggest treats of our week, this crew of friends made a visit to to celebrate a birthday! (Birthday person in the middle!)This means so much to us, and I’d say to Uncle Paul and Aunt Essie too. A new generation! ❤️ Thanks for spending some time with us today deepening your love of Paul Robeson.
11/30/2022
JUST ANNOUNCED. Join us in a local celebration of ’s essay collection, Bright Unbearable Reality, longlisted for the 2022 National Book Award. With , , and .
After all the exciting book tour stops criss-crossing the country, we are excited to welcome a writer who currently calls Philadelphia home, home again. She will be joined in conversation by Christopher R. Rogers, Program Director at the Paul Robeson House & Museum. RSVP IN STORIES OR: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/celebrate-w-us-bright-unbearable-reality-philly-homecoming-celebration-tickets-476786068967
11/29/2022
COME CELEBRATE WITH US! The Phase 1 Finale and Name Reveal of the Paul Robeson House & Museum's Community Archiving Space
Working alongside / IPMF Media Artist/Activist-in-Residence , we've spent this year preparing our own collections of Robeson materials, alongside the treasured history of West Philadelphia cultural organizing. Join us in realizing what’s possible when gathering multiple generations in preserving the soulful stories and liberatory visions that sustain us on the long walk to freedom.
RSVP: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/phase-1-finale-name-reveal-robeson-house-museum-community-archiving-tickets-469668159107?aff=efbeventtix&mibextid=Zxz2cZ
11/29/2022
November, philly chapter. see y’all next in 2023. 🙏🏾
![Our friends at Blue Stoop] have launched their spring classes! Check them out! Posted • Blue Stoop] Today's the day we'...](https://img4.gluseum.com/304/750/1310389473047509.jpg)
11/17/2022
Our friends at Blue Stoop] have launched their spring classes! Check them out! Posted • Blue Stoop] Today's the day we've all been waiting for! We're pleased to announce that applications for our Spring 2023 classes are live! 8-week, 4-week, and 3-hour classes, both virtual and in-person, are being offered and taught by amazing Blue Stoop teachers. Check out all of our class offerings on our website, link in bio!
11/17/2022
Posted • Hello!
Saturday, November 26th 3:00 PM at we will be coming together to discuss Modibo Kadalie’s Intimate Direct Democracy:
In this new volume, Modibo Kadalie offers a critical reexamination of the history and historiography surrounding two sites of African maroonage: The Great Dismal Swamp in Virginia and North Carolina; and Fort Mose in Florida.
Hope to see y’all there.
11/16/2022
we adore being a host to collective healing and shared dreaming. thanks , , for bringing your energy to . what a wonderful project and image.
11/16/2022
Photos from The Future Is Us Collective's post
11/13/2022
THURSDAY. Join us as we host the second edition of the transnational Transformative Futures Reading Series w/ . We can provide excerpts of the book to inform the discussion but also invite anyone getting to know the book more in depth too!
11/11/2022
LATER TODAY. Will post link in stories too.
https://asalh.org/calendar/asalh-philadelphia-heritage-will-virtually-celebrate-its-95th-anniversary/
11/10/2022
🙌🏾ANNOUNCING w/ and .
The PHILLY LAUNCH of 'Ideas of Improvisation'. Nov 29, limited in-person attendance + streaming online! RSVP NOW: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/parlor-talks-ideas-of-improvisation-w-joel-dias-porter-philly-launch-tickets-465899486907?aff=efbeventtix
Grateful to have and join us for celebrating this long-awaited collection!
Joel Dias-Porter, a resident of Atlantic City, is self-unemployed but is rumored to gamble for a living.
"Ideas of Improvisation interrogates how the I & the I of the imaginary can appear perpendicular to the axis of the real. In addition to the expected body of words, Joel Dias-Porter improvises on the idea of the lyric by marooning text to create ghost poems that float above the page and add a new haiku-like dimension. Like the rook in brook, in Ideas of Improvisation we hear how Dias-Porter, a neurodiverse technician of the text, reformulates form to navigate the spectrum of possibility."
11/03/2022
🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾
Philly Media and Film Makers we invite you to an intimate evening at Paul Robeson House Events with filmmaker & cinéSPEAK's Assistant Director of Programs, Vernon Jordan III in conversation with Jaz Riley.
Learn with each other, discuss your practice(s), and screen Jordan's short "One Magenta Afternoon." Thursday November 10, Doors at 6:30pm. *Masks required
cinespeak.org/attend
11/01/2022
NOVEMBER 17 x ! Reading Series Returns! LINK IN STORIES.
Posted • Join us in November for in-person and online reading groups on this urgent and important book published by Registration link in bio.
"Abolition is most effectively advanced by naming and elevating an analysis and practice that is collective and feminist...This small book argues that abolitionist traditions have relied on feminist analysis and organizing from their inception and that the version of feminism we embrace is also not possible without an abolitionist imagination...As freedom is a constant struggle, abolition feminism has always been a politics—the refusal to consign humans and other beings to disposability—inseparable from practice."
***rfeminism
11/01/2022
Join us for an intimate communing featuring a masterclass x in-conversation with Vernon Jordan III, filmmaker and cinéSPEAK’s Asst. Dir of Programs. This event will feature a screening of Jordan’s 2022 short, One Magenta Afternoon. Jordan will be in-conversation with Jaz Riley. REGISTRATION LINK IN STORIES! Or: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/cinespeak-presents-in-process-with-vernon-jordan-iii-tickets-433032079607
**This event is proudly produced in-partnership with Paul Robeson House & Museum**
**EVENT FLOW:
DOORS @ 6:30PM
CONVERSATION & SCREENING @ 7:00PM
—
**THIS EVENT IS INDOORS** Masks are required.
**SEATING IS INCREDIBLY LIMITED** Advanced registration is highly encouraged.
—
**TICKETS**
GENERAL ADMISSION: $10 (recommended) —No one will be turned away for lack of funds.
If you cannot afford the suggested price, no stress! No one is ever turned away for lack of funds. please pay-what-you-can in the corresponding field.
**DONATIONS ARE GREATLY APPRECIATED!** Every penny helps. Support our efforts to launch a brick-and-mortar indie / art house cinema in West Philadelphia.
—
ABOUT THE ARTISTS:
—Vernon Jordan III:
Vernon Jordan, III is a Philly-born ‘n raised writer, filmmaker, and poet. As an Afrofuturist, he reflects and expands upon African American memories, dreams, hauntings, q***r kinship, and intimate fluidity; his priority is the merging of the visual and the musical: a Visual Lyricist, as it were. Vernon is a professor of screenwriting at Moore College of Art & Design.
—Jaz Riley:
Jaz Riley is a southern raised writer, activist, and researcher devoted to living, creating, and revealing the beauty of Black life. They are a Ph.D. student at Yale University studying disaster, gender and Blackness.
—
10/29/2022
NONAME BOOKS () PHILLY // OCTOBER // with extreme gratitude to for joining our conversation. 🙏🏾
10/29/2022
Thanks Yi for taking time on a Saturday afternoon to learn about local history! Tours by appointment are available yall! See linktree for details.
10/28/2022
Proud to be a promotional co-sponsor of this important panel.
REGISTER: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScSIb1NSToHbsCtVw6vrhaEGaGOjJczSs7PrPqfKLBFb3Y_hw/viewform
Philadelphia Writing Project and the African American Museum in Philadelphia: RACE AND EDUCATION PANEL & DISCUSSION
NOVEMBER 5, 2022, 1-5 PM, AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSEUM IN PHILADELPHIA, 701 Arch Street
Panelists: Deidre Farmbry, Asali Solomon, Rochelle Nichols-Solomon, Jihan Thomas, and Njemele Anderson will highlight the amazing work of African American women in Philadelphia at the intersection of race and education.
This panel highlights some amazing women from the past and present who are making a difference. We will hear from Philadelphia educators who will highlight the work of Black women from the past and present who have made a difference in the lives of children. Drawing both on primary sources and present-day contributions, we will consider the impact these women have had on education in Philadelphia, especially for Black and Brown youth. This panel will give audience members an opportunity to dialogue, raise questions, and reflect on their practice. Participants will also have the opportunity to explore the Vision & Spirit: African American Art Exhibition.
FREE to teachers and museum educators.
10/28/2022
We deeply appreciated the invitation from Alberto Lati and Fox Sports Latin America to lift up the global significance of Paul Robeson and his ties to Philadelphia as part of the upcoming MLB World Series coverage! Alberto and Paul share a very similar rich engagement with global languages too! Lati is conversational in about 13. They say Paul could make it up to 22! 😮 When the clip arrives, we’ll look to share!
Address
4951 Walnut Street
Philadelphia, PA
19139
Opening Hours
| Thursday | 10am - 4pm |
| Friday | 10am - 4pm |
| Saturday | 10am - 4pm |
Telephone
Alerts
Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Paul Robeson House Events posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.
Contact The Museum
Send a message to Paul Robeson House Events:
Videos
Posted @withregram • @spiralq The 22nd annual PEOPLEHOOD! Saturday, October 15th at 1PM Rain date Sat. October 22nd @robesonhousephl to Clark Park JOIN IN MAKING PEOPLEHOOD HAPPEN (interest form for groups and individuals in bio) Last year an incredible 32 groups, and over 600 people, joined the Peoplehood Parade in to represent their work, their communities, and to walk in solidarity with each other as we celebrate those living and working at the forefront of fighting against oppression and discrimination. Peoplehood is not just an an event, it is also a beautiful art-making and community building process that takes hundreds of artists, activists, adults, children, and community members to create. Peoplehood is shaped by the people who create it, and we'd love you and/or your group be a part of that process. Groups and individuals can fill out the interest link in our bio and we’ll be in touch about special partnerships and art build dates and times. Music by our forever faves @westpowelton 💙💛 #westphilly #artandactivism #community #philadelphia Video and photos by too many people to name but include Wli LaBan, PhillyCAM, Rachael Warriner, Joe Pierre, Chris Baker Evens, Jere Paolini, Pablo Virgo, Jennifer Turnbull and many many more
oh @spiralq we got to talk!!! These are just wonderful images we found digging in the crates! #peoplehood if anyone else knows the story or someone in these images, let us know! ❤️
Pieces of Us Launch (6/24/2022)
We’re open tonight until 9:30 celebrating the launch of #PiecesOfUs. Come see the debut of our new multi-use gallery space in 4949 Walnut at the Robeson House. 🙏🏾
Posted @withregram • @phreakwency Are you going to the Pieces of Us photo book release & gallery event June 24th? Duh, of course you are. Have you gotten your ticket? No? Visit us at piecesof.us to read more about the event and then kindly hit that RSVP. Link is in da bioooo
TONIGHT. 10:30PM. We were proud to be included in this community reflection special, lifting up what we documented in #HowWeStayFree as a way to remain committed to the freedom dreams set forth over the Summer and Fall of 2020 in Philadelphia. Thanks to @mxabdulaliy who was able to provide commentary as well. 🙏🏾
Posted @withregram • @tolsmavideo Organizations like @robesonhousephl are working to preserve and interpret the history of our communities, while helping to equip us with the tools required to move closer to social Justice. View this month’s OCYO at philorch.org/OCYO
We getting the campaign going for this summer! New #HowWeStayFree shirts via @twomindspress. This set exclusively for contributors. Working on wider availability soon. 🙏🏾 keep up with the project at howwestayfree.com
#HowWeStayFree at @hakimsbookstore! Get your copy from the home of Black books.
Posted @withregram • @yououghtaknowtv We revisit the life & legacy of Paul Robeson. The New Jersey born performer & political activist is finally being credited for his contributions. #athlete #actor #activist #singer #celebrated #renaissanceman #newjersey #philly
There He Stood
Tonight's show starts now! Featuring Jamaaladeen Tacuma and Osayande Baruti performing the music of Paul Robeson. Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/there-he-stood-w-jamaladeen-tacuma-osayande-baruti-special-tribute-tickets-225617296407
THIS WAS TAPED YESTERDAY, BUT TONIGHT IS THE NIGHT. STILL TIME TO REGISTER! Link in Bio. Posted @withregram • @reddcarpetroom Wonderful way to start my day on a cold winter day in Philly, meeting my dear friend Osayande Baruti , on our way to rehearsal for the big show. What show you ask? Check my profile page for all the posts if you didn’t hear about it already #PaulRobeson #BlackHistoryMonth #blackhistorymonth2022 #SoudnEvidencePhotography Sound Evidence
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ All the love to our friends over at @bluestoopphl who made these 2022 Philly writer calendars featuring Asali Solomon, Samuel Delany, Ursula Rucker, Carmen Maria Machado, Yolanda Wisher, Sonia Sanchez & more! All proceeds benefit their class scholarship fund, link in their bio at @bluestoopphl.
EXCERPT FROM: The Tallest Tree in our Forest is a 1977 documentary film directed and written by Gil Noble, about singer, actor and activist, Paul Robeson.[1] It was shot on 16mm film and was started shortly before Robeson's death at age 77 in 1976.[2] The film features rare archival footage, interviews, and still photography from the twentieth century. The title is taken from a 1940s statement made by Mary McLeod Bethune describing Paul Robeson.[3] The film was originally available in a three-part format for use on public-access television channels and in classrooms for ages fourteen and above.
stay engaged with everything @robesonhousephl!
Paul Robeson House & Museum IN THE NEWS!
News story on the Robeson House & Museum filed by Maya Rodriguez!
QUICK CELEBRATION + REAFFIRMATION w/ Ms.Vernoca Michael, ED of WPCA / Paul Robeson House & Museum
SO MUCH LOVE. SO MUCH GRATITUDE. SO MUCH LOVE. SO MUCH GRATITUDE. SO MUCH LOVE. SO MUCH GRATITUDE. BOUNTIFUL BLESSINGS! Black Memory is undefeated. AND WE ARE FAR FROM FINISHED. THIS IS A BEGINNING. FOR CONTINUED SUPPORT: https://www.gofundme.com/f/defend-black-memory-black-museums-and-black-life This campaign will live on through July, as we both note additional critical infrastructure and capacity-building projects that support will be focused on: The Paul Robeson House & Museum: —Third level facade of Robeson House needs repairs and painting (you'll see in our FB cover image.) —Brick front is coming loose from the porch on 4949 Walnut St, the administrative hub of the West Philadelphia Cultural Alliance. —Basement insulation renovations (winter heating costs, smh) The Colored Girls Museum —Basement waterproofing —Begin roof repair on this over 130 year old house now turned museum —Hire a part-time administrator —Build an install an outdoor gallery space in the backyard from a shipping crate SO THANK YOU AGAIN. We leave you with these words from poet Lucille Clifton for now. The most beautiful explanation of what it means to do Black memory work: why some people be mad at me sometimes By Lucille Clifton they ask me to remember but they want me to remember their memories and i keep on remembering mine.
"Where Art Lives: The Paul Robeson House & Museum" (2018)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAUL ROBESON!
Meet The Vendors
Arts in the Parlor at the Robeson House & Museum presents: Tieshay Cheryl
Glenn Bryan in Concert @ Paul Robeson House & Museum
Support the WPCA / Paul Robeson House Museum
Support the WPCA / Paul Robeson House Museum
Shortcuts
Category
Welcome to the Paul Robeson House & Museum, 4951 Walnut St.
Photo by Nick Pallazollo
During the last years of a celebrated – and needlessly torturous – life, Paul Robeson came to live under the watchful eye of his sister Marian R. Forsythe in this three-story home at 4951 Walnut Street.
📷Paul Robeson at his 75th birthday party at the house in 1973.
Marian Forsythe and her husband Dr. James Forsythe bought the house in the late 1950s and moved in with their daughter, Paulina. After Robeson’s wife Eslanda died in 1965, he visited his sister (her husband died in 1959) the following summer before returning to New York to live with his son Paul Jr. Forsythe was a retired Philadelphia schoolteacher and at 72 was four years older than her brother.
He had felt so comfortable in her home that instead of staying in New York, he returned to Philadelphia in the fall of 1966 to live with Marian.
“Paul had missed her and the warm happy surroundings of her home,” Charlotte Turner Bell wrote in her book “Paul Robeson’s Last Days in Philadelphia.”
“The thought of Sis always brings an inner smile,” Robeson wrote in his 1958 book “Here I Stand.” “… As a girl she brought to our household the blessing of laughter, so filled is she with warm good humor.”
Marian took great care of Robeson. She celebrated his birthday every year with a cake. In Philadelphia, she sat with him on the porch as Robeson waved hello to neighbors, many of whom likely did not know who he was or his significance. Soon after he arrived, Marian asked Bell to drop by a few times a week to accompany Robeson on piano.
With Bell at piano, he sang his favorite songs, including “Ol’ Man River,” “We are Climbing Jacob’s Ladder” and “Water Boy.”
📷Marian and Paulina Forsythe
He recited “The Creation” by James Weldon Johnson as she softly played “This Little Light of Mine,” him finishing his rendition by singing the song, Bell recalled in her book. He recited Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address” as she played the “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” again singing the song himself at the end of the recitation.
“He would sit with his eyes closed while singing and a broad smile on his face,” Bell said in her book. “Most of the time he sang sitting by the piano.”
Bell was not the only one who played for Robeson. Elizabeth Arnold Michael, who lived in the same block with her husband Dr. E. Raphael Michael and their two daughters, “vocalized” with him, recalled her daughter Vernoca, now executive director of the Robeson House.
Her father, Vernoca added, was Robeson’s spiritual mentor.
Bell noted in her book that Robeson – who spoke or sang in at least 20 languages – sometimes read French and German newspapers to her and Marian, and translated the articles for them. He went out to the movies (he saw “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner”) or watched sports on television, according to Bell.
This was also a house where Robeson welcomed friends whom he had known for years, among them Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee, and Harry Belafonte. Charles L. Blockson, who amassed a collection of African American history that is now housed at Temple University in Philadelphia, arrived, too, having met Robeson for the first time after he moved in with Marian.
Robeson’s health started to fail and his body became frail. On good days, he came down the stairs of the house from his second-floor bedroom to sit on the porch or inside the house. Other days, he remained in bed. His bedroom still has its original furniture.
Arcenia McClendon was a young teacher in her 20s, and she lived with her mother just around the corner. She’d see Robeson and Marian on the porch, and would wave to them. One day, he was not there and Marian mentioned that he was not feeling well and was in bed.
Marian invited her in to see him. When she got to his bedroom, McClendon nervously listened as Marian told him that he had a visitor. Robeson was silent; then McClendon said she was from Laurel, MS.
“Leontyne Price,” Robeson said. Price, the famous soprano, was from Laurel, and Robeson had been one of her early benefactors.
📷Harry Belafonte and Vernoca L. Michael during an event at the Robeson Center at the Brunswick campus of Rutgers University in New Jersey.
This historic house – built in 1911 by architect E. Allen Wilson – sits among the people for whom Robeson agitated. He’d spent a large part of his life as a world-renowned and heralded singer and actor, but once he started speaking out about the injustices confronting African Americans and poor people all over the world, he was hounded by the U.S. government.
He was accused of having Communist leanings, and was called before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1956 where he refused to answer the question of whether or not he was a Communist. The State Department revoked his passport, and it was later reinstated through the courts. The government’s relentless campaign robbed him of his livelihood and his health.
The FBI kept an open file on Robeson even while he lived in Philadelphia as an elderly man who was no longer active.
After Robeson died in 1976 and Marian a year later, the house was left to Paulina. It had been vacant for more than 12 years when the West Philadelphia Cultural Alliance bought it in 1994. The alliance was formed in the 1984 to help satisfy the city’s need for more cultural institutions in its neighborhoods.
The alliance was looking for a place to carry out its mission, and the house where the famous Robeson once lived was ripe for a new purpose (squatters had already taken over it). The alliance bought the house and the attached twin, and sought the community’s advice on whether renovating it to be used for cultural events was the best use. The response was positive.
So the Alliance under the direction of Frances P. Aulston, the driving force behind the house, went about restoring it as a legacy to Robeson, securing funding from a variety of sources. The restoration was mostly completed in 2015.
In 1991, the Paul Robeson House was declared a historical landmark by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. On the sidewalk in front of the house, a state historical marker was erected to tell the world of the historical significance of the house and Robeson himself.
In 2000, the house became an Official Project of Save America’s Treasures and is listed on the National Register for Historic Places. In 2005, it was listed on the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s 2004-2005 “Restore America” sites.
Today, the Paul Robeson House and Museum offers tours of an exhibit titled “Paul Robeson: Up Close and Personal” consisting of record albums, paintings, books, photos and other artifacts pertaining to the man. It also offers space for art shows, community meetings and other events.
Not far from the house, at 45th and Chestnut Streets, is an oversized mural of Robeson that faces a high school bearing his name.
The house is one of several centers devoted to his life, including the Paul Robeson Cultural Center at Rutgers University (where he was an All-American athlete), Paul Robeson Cultural Center at Pennsylvania State University and the Paul Robeson House of Princeton.
Nearby museums
-
South Street
-
South Street
-
Belmont Mansion Underground Railroad Museum
Belmont Mansion Drive -
Philadelphia Holocaust Remembrance Foundation
Arch Street Fl -
Science in the City: Pacts Architectural Prog
N 20th Street -
Fairmount Avenue
-
19121
-
N. 33rd Street
-
Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum
Norwitch Drive
Other History Museums in Philadelphia
-
South Street -
National Museum of American Jewish History
S Independence Mall E -
African American Museum in Philadelphia
Arch Street -
E Passyunk Avenue
-
Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum
Norwitch Drive -
First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry
S 23rd Street -
American Philosophical Society
South Fifth Street -
Central Avenue
-
Richmond Street
-
Museum of the New York & Philadelphia Distric
W Ontario Street -
N. 33rd Street
-
Germantown Avenue
Comments
It may be cold out now, but at least we have these shows to look forward to!! Everything is on sale now 😌😌😌
--------
2.23 Black History Month Jam Session curated by Black Buttafly & Paul Robeson House Events [http://bit.ly/3JbTCTC]
3.1 Disco Hootenanny! [http://bit.ly/3jqM2Kd]
3.14 RentsDue Open Mic Jam Session presented by Beano French & Dj Ricochet "The Untouchable Technician" [http://bit.ly/3DuliiL]
3.16 Voices of Philly Soul - Ladies Edition [http://bit.ly/3XUN2p2]
3.28 Sophie B. Hawkins w/ Walker Lukens [http://bit.ly/3wMHCAl]
4.6 Josh Rouse [http://bit.ly/3Ybzs03]
4.14 Laura Stevenson w/ Kayleigh Goldsworthy [http://bit.ly/3HePpgo]
4.14 Peter Case w/ special guest Ben de la Cour [http://bit.ly/3kNtl3W]
4.26 Adam Ezra Group [http://bit.ly/3XBBF53]
5.20 Christine Havrilla & Gypsy Fuzz w/ Sarah Peacock [http://bit.ly/3XFgzCq]
--------
2.23 Black History Month Jam Session curated by Black Buttafly & Paul Robeson House Events [http://bit.ly/3JbTCTC]
3.1 Disco Hootenanny! [http://bit.ly/3jqM2Kd]
3.14 RentsDue Open Mic Jam Session presented by Beano French & Dj Ricochet "The Untouchable Technician" [http://bit.ly/3DuliiL]
3.16 Voices of Philly Soul - Ladies Edition [http://bit.ly/3XUN2p2]
3.28 Sophie B. Hawkins w/ Walker Lukens [http://bit.ly/3wMHCAl]
4.6 Josh Rouse [http://bit.ly/3Ybzs03]
4.14 Laura Stevenson w/ Kayleigh Goldsworthy [http://bit.ly/3HePpgo]
4.14 Peter Case w/ special guest Ben de la Cour [http://bit.ly/3kNtl3W]
4.26 Adam Ezra Group [http://bit.ly/3XBBF53]
5.20 Christine Havrilla & Gypsy Fuzz w/ Sarah Peacock [http://bit.ly/3XFgzCq]
Black history is American history, and we're proud to be making it every day. This month, in honor of , we'll be sharing weekly spotlights featuring Black people that inspire our team, and we'll be inviting you to contribute, too!
You can also check out some of the incredible resources our city has to offer to learn about Black history, like the African American Museum in Philadelphia, Paul Robeson House Events, and the The African American Children's Book Fair. It takes a village, and we're lucky to be surrounded by such wonderful partners working towards the same goal of fostering a rising & thriving Philadelphia for ALL.
You can also check out some of the incredible resources our city has to offer to learn about Black history, like the African American Museum in Philadelphia, Paul Robeson House Events, and the The African American Children's Book Fair. It takes a village, and we're lucky to be surrounded by such wonderful partners working towards the same goal of fostering a rising & thriving Philadelphia for ALL.
This Sunday, please join IAMMScience Education Group, Paul Robeson House Events, and Slought/Public Trust for Comrade Sisters, a celebration uplifting the stories and experiences of Black Panther Party women from Philadelphia and beyond, from 4-7pm. Free and open to the public, this community forum will feature a panel discussion with invited book contributors from the recent publication of Comrade Sisters: Women of the Black Panther Party (2022) and other women that were active during the period, who will all be in dialogue with local veteran Black women activists.
The rich impact of the Black Panther Party remains deeply felt in Philadelphia. Many of the Black women from Philadelphia who have helped shape and enliven Black Panther Party organizing in the 1960's and 1970's continue to serve as mentors and guideposts for younger generations. We recognize this as an opportunity to thread generations of activism, recovering lessons from our glorious past that can be applied to today's moment. Join us as we spotlight the unsung legacies of Black women in the Black Panther Party, and recover their significant contributions to wider historical struggles for global Black liberation.
Distinguished speakers representing the era of Panther women include Sis. Pam Africa, Sis. Charlotte Hill O'Neal, Sis. Julia Wright, Sis. Hazel Mack, Sis. Regina Jennings, and Sis. Jilchristina Vest. They will be joined by a younger generation of women who represent the Panther continuum, including Tiffany Murphy, Rashida Bey, Ohenewaa Ra, Stacy Nzinga Hill, Melissa Barber, and Lavinia Davis. This event is co-sponsored by HopePHL (formerly PEC), Plants & People, Uhuru Furniture, Mr. Arnold Holloway, the Philadelphia Student Union, and Black Lives Matter Philly.
Learn more at: https://slought.org/resources/comrade_sisters
Image: Image: Photograph by Stephen Shames / Comrade Sisters
The rich impact of the Black Panther Party remains deeply felt in Philadelphia. Many of the Black women from Philadelphia who have helped shape and enliven Black Panther Party organizing in the 1960's and 1970's continue to serve as mentors and guideposts for younger generations. We recognize this as an opportunity to thread generations of activism, recovering lessons from our glorious past that can be applied to today's moment. Join us as we spotlight the unsung legacies of Black women in the Black Panther Party, and recover their significant contributions to wider historical struggles for global Black liberation.
Distinguished speakers representing the era of Panther women include Sis. Pam Africa, Sis. Charlotte Hill O'Neal, Sis. Julia Wright, Sis. Hazel Mack, Sis. Regina Jennings, and Sis. Jilchristina Vest. They will be joined by a younger generation of women who represent the Panther continuum, including Tiffany Murphy, Rashida Bey, Ohenewaa Ra, Stacy Nzinga Hill, Melissa Barber, and Lavinia Davis. This event is co-sponsored by HopePHL (formerly PEC), Plants & People, Uhuru Furniture, Mr. Arnold Holloway, the Philadelphia Student Union, and Black Lives Matter Philly.
Learn more at: https://slought.org/resources/comrade_sisters
Image: Image: Photograph by Stephen Shames / Comrade Sisters
February 5 - 11, 2023 is Black Lives Matter Week of Action - Philly. The following are events we’re uplifting or hosting!
Sunday - Hosted by the Paul Robeson House Events and their partners. Registration is full but there is a streaming option. Please click on their tag and go to their Instagram page to learn more.
Monday - We’re uplifting The National Black Lives Matter Week of Action in Our Schools’s Write Night event. We encourage all age groups to register and participate. Please click on their tag and go to their Instagram page to learn more.
Tuesday - We will be hosting an Open Mic Night at Brotherly Grub Cafe at Jacobs Northwest. Tickets available on eventbrite!
Wednesday - We will be hosting a Yoga Night! In light of recent events, we know having space to breathe and relax and do heart/body work is important.
Thursday - We will be uplifting National’s Imagination Lab! Please click on their tag and go to their Instagram page to learn more.
Friday - We’re uplifting & participating in the Mass Incarceration Panel event. Please see flyer for more information.
Saturday - We will be uplifting and participating in this event to close out the week. RJOC members Nick Bernardini and Keziah Ridgeway will be panelist and workshop leaders Philadelphia Writing Workshop event.
Sunday - Hosted by the Paul Robeson House Events and their partners. Registration is full but there is a streaming option. Please click on their tag and go to their Instagram page to learn more.
Monday - We’re uplifting The National Black Lives Matter Week of Action in Our Schools’s Write Night event. We encourage all age groups to register and participate. Please click on their tag and go to their Instagram page to learn more.
Tuesday - We will be hosting an Open Mic Night at Brotherly Grub Cafe at Jacobs Northwest. Tickets available on eventbrite!
Wednesday - We will be hosting a Yoga Night! In light of recent events, we know having space to breathe and relax and do heart/body work is important.
Thursday - We will be uplifting National’s Imagination Lab! Please click on their tag and go to their Instagram page to learn more.
Friday - We’re uplifting & participating in the Mass Incarceration Panel event. Please see flyer for more information.
Saturday - We will be uplifting and participating in this event to close out the week. RJOC members Nick Bernardini and Keziah Ridgeway will be panelist and workshop leaders Philadelphia Writing Workshop event.
IAMMScience Education Group, Paul Robeson House Events, and Slought/Public Trust are pleased to announce Comrade Sisters, a celebration uplifting the stories and experiences of Black Panther Party women from Philadelphia and beyond, on Sunday, February 5, 2023 from 4-7pm. Free and open to the public, this community forum will feature a panel discussion with invited book contributors from the recent publication of Comrade Sisters: Women of the Black Panther Party (2022), who will all be in dialogue with local veteran Black women activists.
The rich impact of the Black Panther Party remains deeply felt in Philadelphia. Many of the Black women from Philadelphia who have helped shape and enliven Black Panther Party organizing in the 1960's and 1970's continue to serve as mentors and guideposts for younger generations. We recognize this as an opportunity to thread generations of activism, recovering lessons from our glorious past that can be applied to today's moment. Join us as we spotlight the unsung legacies of Black women in the Black Panther Party, and recover their significant contributions to wider historical struggles for global Black liberation.
Learn more at: https://slought.org/resources/comrade_sisters
Image: Image: Photograph by Stephen Shames / Comrade Sisters
The rich impact of the Black Panther Party remains deeply felt in Philadelphia. Many of the Black women from Philadelphia who have helped shape and enliven Black Panther Party organizing in the 1960's and 1970's continue to serve as mentors and guideposts for younger generations. We recognize this as an opportunity to thread generations of activism, recovering lessons from our glorious past that can be applied to today's moment. Join us as we spotlight the unsung legacies of Black women in the Black Panther Party, and recover their significant contributions to wider historical struggles for global Black liberation.
Learn more at: https://slought.org/resources/comrade_sisters
Image: Image: Photograph by Stephen Shames / Comrade Sisters
Check out some photos from our annual conference, A Celebration of Writing & Literacy, co-sponsored with Penn Museum, Teachers Institute of Philadelphia, Penn Graduate School of Education (Penn GSE), and African American Museum in Philadelphia (AAMP). This year’s conference theme was “Teaching Environmental Justice.”
PhilWP director Dr. Diane Waff congratulated and thanked PhilWP administrative assistant Miriam Harris on 21 years of “friendship, support, and collaboration.” Dr. Waff also invited participants to check out emerging resources for teaching civic argument writing using primary sources. This work is supported by a Teaching with Primary Sources grant from The Library of Congress.
Featured morning speaker Jerome Shabazz, executive director of Overbrook Environmental Education Center, presented on “Environmental justice: The social architecture for a resilient and sustainable community.”
At lunch, AAMP education director Nina Ball described a partnership w/PhilWP funded by National Writing Project and National Endowment for the Humanities grant to support teachers and students engaging with stories of African American women leaders in Philadelphia. During one of the morning sessions, three educators (grade 6, community college, university), who participated in Advanced Institute on African American women leaders in Philadelphia, shared classroom examples of using primary sources and excerpts from “The Carried Us” (Baker-Rodgers & Traylor, 2020). PhilWP and AAMP will sponsor three more panels in 2022-23.
During a lunchtime session, Paul Robeson House program director and Penn GSE doctoral student Chris Rogers shared upcoming publication “How We Stay Free: Notes on a Black Uprising” that will include curriculum resources for classrooms. During that same session, PhilWP Scholar and Penn GSE doctoral student Barrett Rosser shared her “Love Story” with the Black Girls Literacies Project. She shared video reflections from co-researchers and invited participants to truly listen to Black girls.
Featured afternoon speaker, Dr. Michael Mann, Penn State prof and climatologist, discussed his book, “The New Climate War.”
Our final session was “Wandering and Wondering” led by CEO Scott Quitel, who’s encouraged participants to look more closely at land uses and reflect on histories of the land along the Schuylkill River and throughout Penn Park. This session was part of the series sponsored by Writing Project sites around the country.
PhilWP director Dr. Diane Waff congratulated and thanked PhilWP administrative assistant Miriam Harris on 21 years of “friendship, support, and collaboration.” Dr. Waff also invited participants to check out emerging resources for teaching civic argument writing using primary sources. This work is supported by a Teaching with Primary Sources grant from The Library of Congress.
Featured morning speaker Jerome Shabazz, executive director of Overbrook Environmental Education Center, presented on “Environmental justice: The social architecture for a resilient and sustainable community.”
At lunch, AAMP education director Nina Ball described a partnership w/PhilWP funded by National Writing Project and National Endowment for the Humanities grant to support teachers and students engaging with stories of African American women leaders in Philadelphia. During one of the morning sessions, three educators (grade 6, community college, university), who participated in Advanced Institute on African American women leaders in Philadelphia, shared classroom examples of using primary sources and excerpts from “The Carried Us” (Baker-Rodgers & Traylor, 2020). PhilWP and AAMP will sponsor three more panels in 2022-23.
During a lunchtime session, Paul Robeson House program director and Penn GSE doctoral student Chris Rogers shared upcoming publication “How We Stay Free: Notes on a Black Uprising” that will include curriculum resources for classrooms. During that same session, PhilWP Scholar and Penn GSE doctoral student Barrett Rosser shared her “Love Story” with the Black Girls Literacies Project. She shared video reflections from co-researchers and invited participants to truly listen to Black girls.
Featured afternoon speaker, Dr. Michael Mann, Penn State prof and climatologist, discussed his book, “The New Climate War.”
Our final session was “Wandering and Wondering” led by CEO Scott Quitel, who’s encouraged participants to look more closely at land uses and reflect on histories of the land along the Schuylkill River and throughout Penn Park. This session was part of the series sponsored by Writing Project sites around the country.
Invite your friends and neighbors! The 22nd annual Peoplehood is Saturday October 15th.
Peoplehood is a parade that celebrates and lifts up PEOPLE, especially those living in the face of oppression and working toward collective liberation. Peoplehood brings activists, neighbors, and youth together to lift one another up alongside giant puppets, drumlines, banners, and performances.
Join the Parade:
Sign-up your activist, youth, or community group to represent in the parade by emailing [email protected] or drop in with your friends and family.
Help make the parade at art builds at Spiral Q’s studio.
Groups signed up so far:
Abortion Liberation Fund PA
ACT UP Philadelphia
All Voting is Local
ArtWell
Batala Philly
Double Trellis Food Initiative
Freedom Marks
Camp Sojourner - Girls' Leadership Camp
César Andreu Iglesias Community Garden
Jobs with Justice
New Freedom District
Philadelphia Rent Control Coalition
Philly Children’s Movement
PHonkPhilly
PhillyCAM
Poor People’s Army
Rabbit Recycling
Reclaim Philadelphia
Rise Choir
Rise Up 4 Abortion Rights Philly
Save the FDR Meadows
Shut Down Berks Coalition
The Attic Youth Center
The Dandelion Project
Paul Robeson House Events
The Vaudevillains NYB
Philly Trans March
West Powelton Steppers & Drum Squad
Why Not Prosper
Workers World Party
Workers' Voice
Youth Volunteer Corps Philly
Peoplehood is a parade that celebrates and lifts up PEOPLE, especially those living in the face of oppression and working toward collective liberation. Peoplehood brings activists, neighbors, and youth together to lift one another up alongside giant puppets, drumlines, banners, and performances.
Join the Parade:
Sign-up your activist, youth, or community group to represent in the parade by emailing [email protected] or drop in with your friends and family.
Help make the parade at art builds at Spiral Q’s studio.
Groups signed up so far:
Abortion Liberation Fund PA
ACT UP Philadelphia
All Voting is Local
ArtWell
Batala Philly
Double Trellis Food Initiative
Freedom Marks
Camp Sojourner - Girls' Leadership Camp
César Andreu Iglesias Community Garden
Jobs with Justice
New Freedom District
Philadelphia Rent Control Coalition
Philly Children’s Movement
PHonkPhilly
PhillyCAM
Poor People’s Army
Rabbit Recycling
Reclaim Philadelphia
Rise Choir
Rise Up 4 Abortion Rights Philly
Save the FDR Meadows
Shut Down Berks Coalition
The Attic Youth Center
The Dandelion Project
Paul Robeson House Events
The Vaudevillains NYB
Philly Trans March
West Powelton Steppers & Drum Squad
Why Not Prosper
Workers World Party
Workers' Voice
Youth Volunteer Corps Philly
Black history is American history, and we're proud to be making it every day.
This month, check out some of the incredible resources our city has to offer to learn about Black history, like The African American Museum in Philadelphia, the Paul Robeson House Events, and The African American Children's Book Fair.
This month, check out some of the incredible resources our city has to offer to learn about Black history, like The African American Museum in Philadelphia, the Paul Robeson House Events, and The African American Children's Book Fair.